L.A. County to pay $1.8 million to family of woman shot by deputies

Los Angeles County supervisors agreed Tuesday to pay $1.8 million to the family of a mentally ill woman killed by sheriff's deputies at a clinic in Rosemead.

Jazmyne Ha Eng, 40, was shot to death Jan. 4, 2012, at Asian Pacific Family Center. Eng was described as a "high functioning schizophrenic" in a federal lawsuit filed by the family.

Deputies had responded to a report that Eng was holding a hammer in the center's lobby. When Eng did not respond to instructions to drop the hammer, deputies attempted to shoot her with a Taser. But that failed.

Deputies said Eng raised the hammer and began to advance on one deputy. The deputy's partner fired his gun at her, hitting her in the chest.

Investigators for Los Angeles County concluded that the deputy who shot Eng acted in self-defense and in defense of others. The county said in a summary of the case that the Sheriff's Department had imposed "appropriate administrative action" on the two deputies after undertaking its own review.

But Eng's family contended that the department should have sent deputies who were trained in dealing with the mentally ill. They said Eng had been waiting patiently in the lobby of the clinic all day and noted that a clinic employee said Eng was frightened and tried to hide behind a water cooler when the deputies arrived.

County supervisors approved the proposed settlement by a unanimous vote without discussion.